Stories we followed in 2018: Abuse in the Roman Catholic Church

Katie is a reporter for PA Post and she hosts its political podcast State of the State. For two years she has covered the legislature, governor, and a wide range of political issues for public radio stations across Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania found itself at the center of national attention this summer after the release of a sweeping grand jury report on decades of child sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.

The report implicated more than 300 so-called predator clergy and detailed abuse of more than 1,000 child victims.

Fallout from the revelations is still being felt.

Political implications

Soon after its release, calls went out for legislative change, and lawmakers started negotiating reforms.

But there was a sticking point.

The state Attorney General–who led the effort to release the report–the governor, House Republicans and Democrats, and Senate Democrats all wanted to allow retroactive lawsuits on old, statute-limited abuse cases. It was a provision recommended in the grand jury report itself.

But the Catholic Church opposed the idea, saying it would bankrupt churches.

That’s the side Senate Republicans took. With only a few days to go in the 2018-18 legislative session, lawmakers found themselves deadlocked.

Marc Levy / Associated Press

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, a Republican from Cameron County, tells reporters that the Senate hasn’t been able to produce a bill the House would support.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati was one of the key voices against the retroactivity clause.

“You know in this world, we’d all love to get everything we want. I’d love to have every bill passed exactly as it was written. But this is a democracy,” he told his fellow lawmakers, adding that he believed “the [abuse] victims in this building are being victimized for politics.”

Tensions ran high on the other side of the issue, too.

State Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat and abuse survivor, was one of the most outspoken advocates for allowing suits on old cases.

“If your senator does not support a two-year window, you vote them out of office,” he said.